Solidarity Means Action: July 10, 2026
Features
On Power: Babies –Dan A
From the cradle bars comes a beckoning voice. It sends you spinning. You have no choice.
-Siouxsie and the Banshees
Why are people like Donald Trump and Elon Musk such babies?
If political power is the ability to have others burn calories to do your will, then we can’t overlook the power of babies. When babies cry, the grown-ups do backflips to figure out how to satisfy their wants and get them to stop crying. Anyone who has kids or has spent a lot of time around kids knows that many children tend to retain an expectation that their every whim will be served by the adults well after they’ve reached an age when they are capable of doing things for themselves. For us working class people, once they reach that age we start telling them, “No. Get it yourself. You can make your own. I’m not your maid,” etc. This is not to be cruel, obviously, but to teach them to increase their capabilities and be self-reliant.
Rich people do not go through this process.
From the cradle to the grave, rich people are served by servants. They only ever speak, and their will is extended over others. It is for this reason that they have arrested development. This is the reason why they throw hissy fits when they don’t get their way.
Now you’re probably thinking, “But wait. Babies are helpless and dependent.” And you’d be right. Power dynamics between dependents and their guardians are not so cut and dry, and we’ll get into that later. For now I’ll leave you with this: Rich people are helpless. They are fully dependent on us for everything. They are incapable of doing anything on their own. They need us. We do not need them.
All power to all people. Solidarity.
Dancing on the 4th of July –Troy W.
I went dancing with my DSA comrades this past holiday weekend. It may seem hopelessly naïve or even insidious to some that, during a time when we live under a fascistic administration that murders its own citizens with impunity, revels in waging war and fattening the war pigs, and allows our neighbors to starve, I was getting my life on the dancefloor. All on that most uncritically patriotic of holidays.
In his May 2026 Jacobin piece, “The Left Needs to Have More Fun,” Eric Blanc makes the case that building a mass working class movement in America will require providing “a joyful community” to counter the right’s veneer of being a bastion of wholesome family-friendly Americana (as opposed to a dour, negative, elitist and alienating leftism). He points out that the socialists of the early 20th century were keenly aware of the power of social events in building their movement.
New Orleans, as the shining beacon of American collective joy, should be at the forefront of making being a part of the leftist movement fun. What does this look like for our chapter? More socials. More dancing. More picnics, movie nights, trivia, DnD, sports leagues, BBQs. More family-friendly and multi-lingual events. Class consciousness and frivolity, synthesized.
I believe we can and should be living up to comrade Emma Goldman’s commonly paraphrased admonition to a well-meaning spoilsport over 100 years ago: “I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal… for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it.”
Bulletins
Fork & Knife Club July 19
Sign up to volunteer for our next Fork & Knife Club Food Distribution, Sunday, July 19, at the Healing Center #258.
We are looking for a location to regularly distribute food in person in the future, specifically in New Orleans East. If you have any suggestions or contacts, please let us know! Direct Service & Health Justice accepts food and supplies donations.
Our next meeting will take place Tuesday, July 21, at 6pm.
Community Resource Shout-Out: Common Ground Relief
Have a giant plastic or reusable “bag of bags” sitting in your kitchen? Bring it to Common Ground Relief at 1804 Deslonde St in the Lower 9th. They also accept glass for Glass Half Full and aluminum cans for Nola Cans 4 Food. They offer 24/7 drop-off.
Community Calendar
Friday, July 10
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Saturday, July 11
DSA Hangout in Kenner
3:00 pm
Nola Desi Kitchen, 3814 Williams Blvd, Kenner
Sunday, July 12
Local Council Retreat
10:00 am – 5:45 pm
Monday, July 13
Immigration Advocacy Working Group
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 & Discord
Tuesday, July 14
Cohort Kickoff
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 & online
DSA Downtown Hangout
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Anna’s, 2601 Royal St
Wednesday, July 15
Ecosocialists Meeting
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Discord
Electoral Committee Co-Work & Talk
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm (every Wednesday)
Morning Call, 5101 Canal Blvd (cash only)
Thursday, July 16
Chapter Orientation
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Meet
Friday, July 17
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Saturday, July 18
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Sunday, July 19
Fork & Knife Club Food Distribution
11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 – Volunteer Sign Up
Poli-Ed Reading Group: The Myth of Red Texas (David Griscom)
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm (third Sunday)
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 – Meet
DSA Bywater Hangout
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Bacchanal, 600 Poland Av
Down the Road
July 25 New Orleans DSA General Meeting
August 2 Coffee with Comrades
August 16 Poli-Ed Reading Group